Tadaima
by Rabid Lola
Summary: Hel returns to Asgard and is met by a not-so-happy Allfather. Set after episode 25.


_**Tadaima**_

_A Matantei Loki Ragnarok fanfic by Rabid Lola _

**A/N: **_Forgot a disclaimer for my last fic. I don't own Matantei. :D Not even copies of it. I borrow._

_So blame me, I wrote another Hel-centric fic. I found her intriguing, and it doesn't seem like she died, but just went back to the world of the gods. Does she show up again in the manga, anyone? Um…are there any volumes out in English? _

…_want anime to continue. NOW. Nyahaha._

…**---… **

He was waiting for her when she got back to the world of the gods.

Hel stopped in her tracks, not entirely of her own will. In the shimmery, shifting no-space, a bright glow stood out; a form that was not very clearly defined, but somewhat human-shaped. Powerful magic arced out of it and around it, and it towered over the helpless looking, pink-haired girl, pinning her with the gaze of its Eye.

"_What have you done?_"

The goddess of Death looked calmly up at him. "What do you mean?" she asked in her placidly expressionless voice.

"_You let Loki live." _

Something like happiness sparked in her eye, and something softened the emerald-hard green, letting them shine with a subtle light. "Father loves me," she said quietly. "I see that, now."

The Allfather shifted, his brilliance mirroring something like angry agitation. _"He **hates **you, Hel! I know it! I see all things, know all things…!"_

Anger flashed in Hel's eyes. Darkness flowered around her, black void streaked by unearthly blue and red and livid green. It grew, and grew, a deadly aura, and even he had to step back, and back again.

Hel was the one goddess even he could not contest. Even the gods were subject to Death, after all.

"You are a liar," she said clearly, in cold fury. One hand raised itself to hover in front of her, fist clenched tightly. It sparked blood red, energy crackling around her fingers. "I may be stubborn, and I may be cold. But I am not stupid. I went down, to that earth, not of _your _will, as Thor and Freya and the others, did, but my own." She raised the hand above her head, and did not flinch when he raised his in return, light streaming from it, trying to pierce and shatter her darkness.

Her darkness was Death. Not evil energy, Death. None could break its hold. It came and went at her will…and at times, even she couldn't control it. At times, she felt not like its goddess, but its mediator, its channel. Death was strong, and ancient, and _final_.

However, she could control it, right now, reined into that tight ball of her fist.

The tension between the girl-goddess and the Allfather was enormous.

"You did not even give me this form," she said in quiet challenge. "You have no control over me."

Odin crackled, saying nothing, holding burning eye contact with her in the laden silence.

The deities and beings in Asgard were petrified, not sure whether to run, hide, or watch. Was there a battle about to be fought? Was it a sign of battles to come?

Then Hel smiled and lowered her fist; the dark seeped back into her and clung in a tame, slight aura. Her face was deceptively pleasant, her smile scarily innocent.

"I won't kill you," she said almost cheerfully, head tilting to the side. She began to fade, slipping past Asgard and into Niflheim, her Realm, her Halls. "I don't think I should, now."

Odin watched as she slipped away, back to guard the realms of the Dead she treasured so much. He was furious, power fluctuating wildly, lighting the rich colors of Asgard in lucid, vehement shades.

Hel stepped into the shadows, into the coldness that didn't seem so bad now, since she knew somebody loved her. She smiled, and spoke to the emptiness,

"Tadaima."

…**--EnD--…**

**Notes: **

"Even the gods were subject to Death, after all" – In Norse mythology, at least. I only don't know if Hel can die, as the goddess of Death dying is kinda…odd.

This fic is based on the impression I gathered from the anime, that Hel was extremely powerful, and not bound to follow Odin as many of the others seemed to be.


End file.
